Caramel Apple
by elianthos
Summary: UxM centered. For the ‘100 Themes Challenge’ of the UsakoMamoru LJ community. A collection of stories and drabbles ranging from humour to angst, featuring both innuendos and fairly serious moments. Beware of the occasional prose-poetry XD
1. Caramel Apple

**Caramel Apple**

by elianthos

S&D: What could happen if you put together caramel apples and a certain anime couple? the '100 Themes Challenge' list on UsakoMamoru community on LJ. -Look on my bio for the link-  
Named after the first chapter theme. Features both innuendos and fairly serious moments. More of them to come too (06-07-06: that's why I've upped the rating ).

**#25. Caramel Apple**

930 words

* * *

He had recognized her from afar: her bubbly countenance and concentration while she, still unaware of his presence, counted her money and thanked the sugared fruits and roast chestnuts park vendor.

And her head whipping in the direction opposite to his as soon as a loud wail was heard from the nearby playground.

l

l

The little kid sobbed , holding his grazed knee. Through the veil of impending tears blurring his vision, he barely realized the newcomer's approaching, untill a feminine voice laced with caring and concern and gentle hands reached for him.

l

l

From what he could see, there were no injuries needing a medicine student to cure them.

So Mamoru allowed himself some more moments as an unnoticed observer. Marvelling once more at the unique creature of loving Grace whom he had achieved to claim as his.

'_She has done_ it_ again'_, he thought as he watched the escalating display of emotion on the child's face: fear, surprise, relief, happiness, even a bit of adoration – that increased to full worship when she gave him both of her still intact caramelized apples -.

Mamoru also mused those must had been – rather, he _felt_ they had been – the same emotions she had evoked in him with just her presence. Being it in past times or in present times; a rosebud or some goodies; soulbound people or perfect strangers, it made no difference. _She_ could light up the life of everyone she came in contact with.

l

l

She waved goodbye to the kid and... to her apples.

She was now broke and hungry.

But after the little boy's – and his playmates' - smiles and hugs and kisses she didn't wish things had gone otherwise.

Her stomach though seemed to have an entirely different opinion. And, to her utter embarassment, it voiced it loudly, too.

She clutched her abdomen with her arms and hissed "Come on, you know my wallet is empty. Now be good and hold on".

More rumbles.

She sighed dejectedly and patted her belly. "_We_'d better go now. Mamochan is waiting and I'm late... again".

Right then a heavenly smell and a deep chukle enveloped her and she turned...

And judging from the adoring amazement on her face and boa-constrictor hug she gave him along with delighted squeals and showering kissess, Mamoru amusedly thought he had never been more knight-in-shining-armour to her than now brandishing _four_ skewed caramel apples.

l

l

"Don't you want to take a bite?" she asked as they sat.

His elbow on the back of the park bench and his face propped on his knuckles to properly enjoy her profile, he barely shook his head no.

He rather preferred to satiate himself by the sight of her. Revelling in his loving mirth for the tiny cloud she released with every breath in this chilling October air. For her cheeks now childishly stuffed with food. Even for her vocal stomach. Because such things made her human. Because they showed she was real.

But while he was perfectly content, her partner was considering his silence differently

'I must really look like Hamtaro to him now', she thought. Her inner musings shifted from gastronomical bliss to aesthetical worry, and her fond munching accordingly subsided.

She twirled the skewer in her hands for a little, contemplating the half-eaten fruit.

He was quite surprised by her following words:

" In mythology, apples are connected to wisdom, protection, and love. And also to beauty, fertility..."

he playfully waggled his eyebrows and grinned seductively, turning her already pinked cheeks to crimson

" ...and marriage". Then her lowering gaze caught a glint from her engagement ring, and she could not stop a smile from spreading on her lips.

She rose her skewer untill the apple was right between their faces " They're all beautiful meanings, don't you think so?".

He wholly agreed. And they were as beautiful and suitable for apples as they were for her.

"It's unfair that in Christianism it was turned into the Devil's Trojan Horse to mankind's Fall, though", she added, half puzzled, half saddened.

He remembered that among the Tsukinos's ancestors there had been some missionaries. And the long winter afternoons he had spent alone in his Catholic orphanage library had made him quite familiar with the Bible.

So he just shrugged at her last line and leaned nearer to her fiancé, untill her still glossy-with-caramel lips were barely an inch afar. " Unfair, maybe. But understable." He paused to clear his husky voice, took his face and the apple away from her and held it as Hamlet would have done with Yorick's skull.

Then he stood to face her, a bit of pride for having all of her attention. _'And her sadness's gone. Go me!'. _

"Look at this fruit, my lady . The very epithome of irresistible temptation. Its captivating colour, texture, scent..." he luxurioursly nibbled a piece for inspiration " ...taste..."

His eyes drank Usagi in: her scarlet red Montgomery coat, in her ivory fluffy scarf and matching earmuff that enhanced even more her silky, rosy cheeks and her spun-gold mane, and her eyes shining with expectation. And that achingly inviting, soft mouth and body...

"...curves...". _'Ooops. VERY smooth, Chiba. '_

She muffled her laughter and swiftly moved from the bench to stand in front of him on her tiptoes.

Her gaze twinkling mischieviously, she traced the contours of his jaw line and his apologetically grinning lips with her fingers to draw his face closer and his eyelids to shut, then... she grabbed the skewer and pushed him away, taking the last remaining morsel of the apple.

"An irresistible temptation indeed, my lord!"


	2. Weeping Willow

AN: My first try at the real length of a drabble. Hope it turned out good...

For the UsakoMamoru C2 '100 themes challenge' on LJ – see my bio -

**#67 . Weeping Willow**

by elianthos

-100 words -

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Every leaf of mine, a tear. A reminder. My branches bend - an embrace - and dip the water surface, as if searching through the flow of Memory.

For you.

My Lord, my son and master. Earth Protector.

The breeeze filtering through sings you lullabies. My shadow is for your solace.

Until the Lady of Light enters my leafy curtain. Her blessed touch on your eyes and lips.

Earth and Sky join under my green vault.

The land blossoms in your smile.

In your happiness at last I rejoice. And in the eyes of you both, Universe is made anew.


	3. My Soul's Shelter

I'm afraid this one turned out a bit weird... well, let me know, ok?

**# 75. My Soul's Shelter**

-- 128 words --

A place where I can rest. _You_.

Your hold keeping me together. Your absence, as well as your presence, reshaping me like iron dust in a shifting magnetic field.

Where I get crushed and merged in every time, only to be every time reborn stronger and finally beautiful.

Turn me into your Phoenix. And never stop, never stop...

Where narrowing my focus to the circle of your arms is diving into a cosmos as endless and mysterious and familiar as the one above us.

Where our boundaries of mortality taste Infinity.

Ruler of my Breath...

Let my roots pulse in you.

Let these lips pour your name into your heart.

Let my Love for you be my prayer.

Until the last Star will dim and crumble.

And beyond.


	4. My Soul's Shelter take two

Ok, this is the same theme you've read in the previous chapter, but beta-ed and edited by Arashinobara of the ArashinobaraJikkankakyoku duo (never heard about them? Never read their fics? DO IT! Please. The links are on my profile page favs lists). There are some differences, as you can notice, in the second sentence especially. You can taste a bit of her writing style in all those contributions and improvements.

**# 75. My Soul's Shelter -take two-**

-- 128 words --

Where I can rest; a place of peace… _You_.

Your embrace my anchor, your absence, as well as your presence, ceaselessly shaping me like the ripples of dark gold sand on ocean beach – here I am smoothed and moulded and _become _every time, becoming like the waves playing about my surface.

You have made me your Phoenix... the cycle never ceases, never halts.

Where narrowing my focus to the warmth of your arms is diving into a cosmos as endless and mysterious and familiar as the one within and the one without and above and below…

Where our boundaries of mortality taste Eternity.

Ruler of my Breath...

Let my roots

_pulse in you. _

Let these lips

_pour your name into your heart. _

Let my Love for you

_be my prayer. _

Until the last Star will dim and crumble.

_And beyond._


	5. Weapon' and 'Thorns'

**#31. Weapon and #68. Thorns**

-580 words-

Short note: this is the unbetaed version. The result of Arashi-chan's beta-work was too good (and different) not to post it as a co-written one-shot, titled 'You Shall Be My Knife'.

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He _feels_ her coming.

Her laughter. Her sunlight hair. The life radiating through everything she does. Through everything she _is_.

So beautiful that it hurts. So beautiful that his core of shadows shrinks and recoils from her - before she can see the scarred, dry desert surface his life is. But he sees it all - and sometimes, he tests her.

---_Bleed as you make me to---_.

And he despises himself for that. Because she reveals how cold and cruel and scared he can be deep inside... -.

But under her warmth his withered seeds crave for a chance to blossom - and sometimes, and oh, so seldom, he let a little smile creep in his eyes and lips as he watches her.

And he always makes up for any wrongs to her, he's her protection, and the shoulder she can cry on. And something ancient and gentle and forgotten and so intimately _his_ unfolds and spreads towards her. But should she reach this flower – bitter-sweet spicy scent and velvet petals by Solitude brewed -, thorns of steel could pierce those beloved fingers from side to side, and then poison – brewed by Solitude as well – would freeze her heart before sap tears from the self-cut stem could heal her .

---_But I'd give my blood for you. Everything I have. Everything I am.---_

So he shivers internally, his last remnants of self control in his fingers gripping his coffee mug, his eyes closing as she sits on her usual Arcade stool. Beside his.

Her voice. It's like an echo in his bones, mining his sanity, the defensive and rational walls he prided himself about.

He rises the steaming cup until it's just below the base of his nose to prevent her scent from reaching him. But it only makes things worse. Her smell mingles to his coffee, spiraling up through his nostrils and all of him. And every sip he takes renews and mocks at his wonder about how must she taste.

She pervades him. His body, his memories, his dreams. _All_ of them. His most secret realm. His source of - relative - happiness.She has invaded him. And she doesn't know. Or does she?

Sometimes he catches her watching him, the ghost of a smile lingering on her lips. Affection, or mockery, he's unable to tell –or, rather, afraid to -. Again, sometimes he teases her and she smiles back. _Smiles_ at him - he thinks she knows then -. But most times she returns word for word.

Sometimes he would shake her and shout at her in the face: "Who are you? Who are you, who overwhelms me so?"

The way she speaks, eats, pouts, smiles. Even the way she trips. She is making his life torment.

He has learned to face, and defeat, pain, abandon, despair, loneliness, violence, death – and, lately, youmas -. To dodge and stop every blow and return it with a more deadly strike. He'd never thought that he could be defeated by lo-...

That someone so caring and sweet and so harmless-looking could wound him.

She's an arrow tearing his flesh apart and piercing his soul. And making him feel alive with it.

She's his saviour. Sitting both barely a few inches and worlds afar.

He fears and yearns for this weapon to reach for him deeper and deeper. This o-so-sweet sorrow...

Without realizing - and not even daring to hope - he's doing the same to her.

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Long(er) note: depressing, uh? Sorry.

I have snippets for next drabbles waltzing - or rather dancing (messily) Hungarian style- in my head. Themes (not necessarily in this order): Mischief, Chocolate, Naughty, Death and/or Karma.

And I'll try NOT to post a gloomy one next time.

For those who have read my other fic, 'By Daylight and Moonlight': this can be meant as a sort of prequel. At least, it feels like that to me now. --hint hint--

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06-07-06: little grammar revision. With many thanks to Caytlyn Rose-chan for pinpointing my translation glitches in her review.


	6. Rain at midnight

**#32. Rain at midnight**

Betaread by Arashi-chan. Gotta love you and your use of italics, and the way you can read between the lines (in a pleasant-creepy sort of way :) ). Thank you, bara-ko --glomps--.

Oh, and the way you give wings and eloquence to the language limitations of my non-English-born mind. --glomps again--

----142 words----

Darkness falling without a whisper; the cloak of dusk, twilight's breeze electric and crackling with _something_-in-the-_air – _

_Falling down like rain._

Through the drizzle, she smells roses,

_Carrying the fragrance of his body's melody,_

Here are the ripples in her skin his touch grants her, and she drowns in all he pours into her even as she breaths the air he does,

_and the relishing of every word leaving his lips speaks in her eyes. _

And each gesture of affection is as fleeting as the water that touches and leaves her skin, but his caresses and kisses outnumbers even the tears-of-sky as she burns in his cool rainfall,

_And she bathes in it and floats and drinks and merges with it_

He embraces her – soundlessly, but for the gentle patter of rain –

_as the rain falls and time flows deeper into the night._

For those who were curious to see the unbetaed version, ta-daaan! Here it is, related ANs included.

**#32. Rain at midnight**

-113 words-

Darkness outside filling the room glass window. Cloak of dusk, air damp and electric. And the feel of rain, filtering through – and intensifying - the cocoon of warmth and the scent of roses. _Him_.

Ripples in her flesh at his touch, breath caressing her skin as he pours all of him into her.

Every gesture of affection falling on her like tiny drops, enveloping her, gliding on her. Melody of his body, of every word leaving his lips. Falling down like rain.

And she bathes in it and floats and drinks and merges with it, as rain falls and time flows deeper into the night .

AN: Just because some of my dear readers told me I can be cryptic sometimes, I'm clarifying. He is her rain. He's raining on her (whatever you wish it to mean 3 ). The midnight rain outside is purely coincidental (Or maybe not. Well, he's the prince of Earth...)


	7. Chocolate' and 'Sacrifice'

**#1.Chocolate and # 91. Sacrifice**

**aka 'In the name of Chocolate and in the name of Love' **(aw... the mushiness)

-135 words-

AN: the first version for this theme was IMO fairly good, (ok, I'm actually quite proud nof it) but too long to be a drabble. So I kept it as a stand alone fic, while for the challenge list... --drums roll-- I've written something shorter, and totally different. Weird POV too :).

Unbeta-ed.

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Those blue orbs are fixed on me, so close and beautiful. I start melting with anticipation before those fingertips actually touch me, removing the last barrier between us.

And here I am, laid exposed in all my chocolatey glory and close to my end. I'm lifted to those inviting lips slightly opened to take me. She's so sweet, I wonder why she would need me at all. And just when I'm ready to plunge happily into her mouth and release all the bliss I'm able to bestow on, I feel a pull in the opposite direction. Other lips and teeth, teasing and nibbling both me and her. Tongues wrestling in a playful claim.

Well, I can't regret this tug-of-love half breaking, half melting me. Sometimes, to achieve your mission, sacrifices must be made ;).


	8. Karma

**# 4. Karma **

**Dedicated to MegTao and Caytlyn Rose, for being so supportive and for brightening my day with --their-- pretty drabbles. **

**And a special dedication to Arashi-chan. Bara-ko, may your Muse grace you with tons of inspiration for your fics, and us with new updates from you. I miss them! And may your beta-read touch come back to me soon. I miss you! (01-07-06: I've fixed the typo you pointed out in your review :) )  
**

--446 words--

Moonbeams stream through the window pane, enveloping her in a faint halo of silvery pearl, dimming the warm blonde-shaded strands fanned on their bed. He softly strokes her tresses, the tangible texture of them reassuring.

She looks so much like her past - and future - self in such moments. And it stirs in him conflicting emotions. She had been as loving and sweet back then as she is now, but she also had been subdued somehow, like a caged bird. Trapped in her role and in the expectating adoration of her people. And it had been the suffering beneath her beauty that had drew him at first.

Like the Moon needed the Sun to fully shine, the Sun had needed her to his balance.

He had been so different as well. Outgoing, happy, a spoiled chatterbox of a boy surrounded by friends closer than brothers, in a hidden realm receded from mankind's memory. Free to travel around with them and protecting the lands under many names and many forms, while she was strictly confined inside her palace, watching the world but forbidden from reaching it. Until she escaped. For him. For herself.

_My lady of Astolat, I couldn't save you from dying. So many times... _As his fingers curl around her strands, he feels her now open eyes on him. The cosmos of her irises burns steadily as her soul reaches for her knight, fingers entwining with his: _It was my choice. Every time. And I wouldn't undo it. _

Her lips turn up into a smile then, dawn returning everything its colour.

While holding this golden child in his arms as them both turns on their sides to stare at the sunrise, he wonders once more at how ironic fate can be: a prince wielding the power of both Sol and Terra being reborn to grow into a silent, pained, brooding night wanderer, and a nocturnal goddess princess reborn as a bouncy, bubbly girl with a sun-coloured hair and soul.

Both encased in their own world. Both tunnel visions in their own way. They had met again, and it had shattered them and everything, everyone they knew. Again. And again.

But they had finally been able to _see _a world. The whole of it. The same shared dream and the promise of it turning into reality. And they would fight to _live_ to enjoy it as well.

For themselves.

And for every single spark of Life the Universe can bear.

In that moment they fully accepted their destiny and the price of it: as every doubt and regret was washed away by the blessing embrace of an ocean of morning light and last lingering stars.


	9. Nature Part I: Snow

**# 81. Nature.**

**Part I: Snow.**

-145 words -

Tiny star-shaped, soon-melting gems in her hair as she smiles and spins, arms wide, voice melodious. The white flakes dancing slowly around her, floating like feathers, suspended in adoration.

Her hidden grace blossoming before his very, unadverted eyes. She's a dervish of light, a shining flower. A Star embodied and walking among mortals.

She notices his presence, gazes locking and her step faltering. But only for a moment, then both her dance and Time resume their pace again.

And he keeps watching her, feet moving toward her, drawn into her magic circle by the spell she's unawarely weaving all around.

One day he'll step too close and he'll never be able to escape.

One day he'll take her hands and spin along with her and lay on her like those snowflakes do; engulfing her, cherishing her as snow could never do.

One day he will.

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ANs: dedicated to my first Author-friend, web-friend and beta-reader ever, L-chan aka Queen here on this site aka QueenAlatariel on DeviantArt, aka iceaffinity on her Yahoo! Site. Because she's smart and gentle and special and she writes such addictives tales (both fictional and fanfictional ones).


	10. The ' Mischief&Closet’ trilogy Part I

**The '#21. Mischief and # 14. Closet' trilogy. **

**aka the tricky Author's evil inner twin has awakened. I'm officially 26 years-old-and-17-days older and naughtier. Run for your liiiife!**

Special thanks to MegTao, Caytlyn Rose and neoqueenserena for her beta/review/feedback help on this at the UsakoMamoru LJ community. Oh, and to MegTao and Caytlyn Rose for _their_ drabbles too :) .

**Part I. **

**# 16. Behind the blue curtain**

Warning: innuendo party. Features actual sweat, grunting noises, full lenght mirrors, and lots of tactile action. And mention of various fluids. (YET it's not M-rated. Go me!)

-226 words-

She had whirled around him, her long skirt rising gracefully. The upper part of the dress was cut to show her figure, but not so tight to reach indecency, with the back zipper concealed by Greek-style folds and a satin sash running along the hem and just below her breasts.

She had blushed under his appreciating gaze and hugged him enthusiastically. Then she had gone back into the fitting room and a few moments later she had called him...

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He called himself fool for not remembering yesterday had been _that_ time of the month... ( AN: not what you might think >3)

"It's stuck Usako."

'We are' he corrected mentally. He had been doomed since she had lured him inside for help.

"You're kidding me."

"If only we had something to lubricate it..."

"Lubri... what?"

"Something to make it slick. Soap, oil, paraffine... that kind of things"

Of course none of the aforementioned items was available there and then, as she pointed out to him.

"Always the observant one..." he teased.

"Oh brain almighty, so why didn't you think about taking some equipment?"

"Excuse me, how could I imagine there would be need for it in a changing room"

"There would be an alternative..."

Expectant stare

"Saliva."

"Don't you DARE!"

Sigh.

"Allright. Give me some more time."

She was so not in the mood for --it-- now...

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AN: la la la laaaa... cliffie!

Lils, I DARE you to review this :D .

P.S. 06-17-06: thanks to Kara-chan for pointing out the missing letter (argh! My Italian set up Word spell-check is a pest )


	11. M&C trilogy Part II A familiar song

**The '#21. Mischief and # 14. Closet' series. **

**Part II. **

**# 49. A familiar song.**

Warning: both the 'innuendo party' and the 'features actual sweat, grunting noises, full lenght mirrors, and lots of tactile action' part still applies. About the fluids... your guess. Oh, and it's still not M-rated :P (though this may change up to _your_ guess about fluids...)

--773 words--

She crossed her arms and began tapping her left foot.

"Usa, you're not helping this way. Just. Keep. Quiet. Please. I won't fail you. Did I ever ?"

Pointed look from Usa at him in the mirror. _'_Ok, wrong question.'

"It almost seems it doesn't fit in..."

"How can you said it! It's in its place to be. You've done it fine just before !"

He nuzzled below her jaw apologetically.

"Should I hold it as well?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you." A trickle of sweat. Hair clinging stubbornly in his eyes. _'_Stay focused, breath, stay focused...'

"Are you sure?"

He grunted as he tried harder. "YES. Hold on Usa."

"Actually, you're are the one meant to do that."

By the mirror facing her she detected the faintest tinge of selfdisappointment in his scrunched in concentration features. He was so cute like that. "Don't try too hard. Relax."

"May I remind you it was your idea first?"

"Would you have preferred I asked for someone else's help in my direst time of need?"

She arched against him, trying to give him better access by changing the stretch of her dress fabric. He swallowed hard as more and more skin was revealed in the process and her thigs brushed on his

"Better if you don't move."

"I wouldn't, if _you_ would. Really, I recall your fingers being much more deft."

"We're almost there Usako, almost there."

His fingers grazed her lower back as he fumbled a bit more with the fabric.

She hissed through clenched teeth. "What if I bend over?"

"Better not. Stretching it furtherly it's the last thing I neeed now"

Some more moments of him struggling against her lower back.

She wriggled with discomfort.

"No Usa! Don't! There's already little or no space for one people." 'Why dressing rooms have to be so claustrophobic ?' He had the strong urge to bang his head against the next mirror wall.(1)

A familiar song started to play. She straightened up, excited. "Marvin!"

Her action sent his head banging against the wall mirror behind him with a 'thuuuuunnnnng'.(2)

She giggled at the funny sound. At his glare, she dug softly her fingers in his bangs, massaging his scalp and smoothing his frown as he resumed his work. Or rather, he tried to.

Being crammed with the love of your life in very little room and surrounded by mirrors providing details of their predicament from every possible angle and with Marvin Gaye's invitation about 'Let's Get It On ' singing above your head was really putting a strain on his concentration. Not to mention very... err... _distracting_ memories...

"We could really get some-"

Still managing to keep his hands in place, his unbelieving, shocked gaze darted to the reflection of her _mostly_ sweet, naive beloved's face...

"-progress in here, Mamo-chan"

...registerizing with alarm the sparkle in her eyes, and the quirky Mona Lisa smile he has caught her displaying lately.

He could place that smile almost by the exact day it began. Since the girls started that special monthly girls-only reunion sleepover tradition after finally saving the Shitennou, Usagi had grown more... flirtatious. Brazenly so. He strongly suspected Minako's manoeuvres to be behind this change. According to the boys' comments actually, the Senshi of Venus had recruited all of the girls to the Art of Flirtation cause. Mamoru couldn't decide either to pity or to envy Kunzite. The things Minako must put the calm, aloof Shitennou through...

His Usako's smile shifted into a 'owww' soon after as his aforementioned hands kept going...

"Ooops. Forgive me."

Half sheepish half impish he smiles at her slightly scowling reflection, then following a sudden inspiration he kept their gazes locked at the mirror while dipping his mouth to where he had seemingly pinched her. 'Why not getting some, in the end?' He then allowed one last kiss between her shoulder blades before resuming his task. He progressed some inches more. Then he blinked repeatedly at the daring strip of lingerie revealed to his sight. 'This was definitely Minako's doing...'

He went still, hot and cold waves alternatively rising.

"Mamo-chan, we're taking roots here. Mamo-chan?"

She leaned against him, a bit tired. But, he noticed, not so tired not to lean purposedly on all the right places of him. Mmmh, maybe he wouldn't have Mina's head on a platter for all her flirtation tips bestowed on his fianceè after all...

He renewed his Kissing Pilgrimage until she went limp. He cautiosly pulled and pushed some more times, his lips never leaving her skin, and...

"YESSSS!"

She joined his cry of triumph as both found their release.

Then the curtain opened.

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AN: wheeee! Another cliffie! I'm a bad, bad fangirl.

(1) As they say, 'be careful about what you ask for...'

(2) Bingo! '…you could get it'.


	12. M&C trilogy Part III A change of scener

**The '#21. Mischief and # 14. Closet series. **

Many thanks and glompses to **Kara-chan**, aka **Neo Diji** aka the FMA Yaoi Innuendo Mistress :) for smoothing some grammar and flow wrinkles (and for letting me lure her back into the SM fandom ;P )

Gah, I must have done something good in my past lives to get such lovely betas...

**Part III. **

**# 85. A change of scenery (...maybe ;) . But the song remains the same. Possibly the dance too? Yay! Another theme!) :drum roll: and #28. Same old song and dance. **

--402 words--

'_He renewed his Kissing Pilgrimage until she went limp. He cautiously pulled and pushed some more times, his lips never leaving her skin, and..._

"_YESSSS!" _

_She joined his cry of triumph as both found their release._

_Then the curtain opened.' – End of Part II._

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The shop assistant was flashed twin glinting pearly-white smiles, the brute display of such overwhelming beauty leaving her hands clutching the blue fabric curtain like an anchor to what she had known of reality 'til that moment.

Then this male... GOD... removed her paralyzed fingers one by one from the curtain, his mesmerizing voice murmuring something about needing it back for his fiancée to get changed, and briefly explained the situation. Things like that happened, of course, of course... She was so sorry on the shop's account...

But they insisted they were fine now; the lucky petite girl had assured her that there was no need for apologies at all...

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When his Usako had called him to help her zip her dress up and then down, he had never imagined what he would get himself into...

Once out of the changing room, he readjusted his slightly dishevelled appearance and straightened his clothes – giving the retreating said assistant almost a heart attack in the process. _Again_. His skin was still slightly damp, but he felt a lot calmer and much more content. His lady had needed him in an unusual place and time. But he had not receded, even if the tasks his skills were required for had been much harder and longer than he could have imagined. And he prided himself on being a man of experience. In the end, the soul-shattering kiss she had rewarded his knight with had left him with the certainty she had been fully satisfied.

Some moments later, the changing room curtain parted again, revealing his winking, flushed, but beaming girlfriend. As he let her radiance bathe him, he thought that yes, it had been well worth enduring a whole afternoon of shopping, raiding, and struggling to free her from a boutique dress zipper that JUST. WOULDN'T. WORK.

"I'm buying it."

To his pride and composure's credit, he didn't facevault. Barely.

"Usako, can't you choose another one? Should I remind you of what we experienced in there?" He pointed at the changing room, the pitch of his voice growing lower and huskier as his mind replayed the last hour's events.

She raised a hand to his cheek then trailed her fingers to the nape of his neck, pressing gently for his head to come lower. With her breath tickling his ear and sending his blood racing, she purred: "That's exactly why I'm buying it."

He hid his grinning face in his hands.


	13. Nature Part II: Rosebud&Gift

**#. **

**Part II: #48. Rosebud. #33. Gift **

--456 words--

Beta: the thrice lovely, faster-than-lightening Neo Diji. Seriously, drop on your knees and worship her. She revised this three times in three days...

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Plants, animals. He had always been able to speak to them gently by his touch. They had taught him the universal language before and beyond words. Sometimes, even before he _remembered_, he thought he sensed them answering him. The only creatures he had felt he could trust since the very beginning.

But roses had always been special to him. Every time he could help them grow, it was like his soul could unfold along with their petals; while they lent him voiceless, supple strength as he unconsciously waited for... _something…_making his heart sing like the birds he fed and loved.

Something -or someone- that could decrypt this veil of silence and reserve.

Somehow, he kept asking those regal corollas to reveal the unspoken call, the ultimate knowledge, and the yearning for something -- someone -- unknown. Forgotten. Knowledge lies in Reminiscence, a Greek philosopher of old had said. In his present lifetime, he would learn it the hard way.

He had kept mutely interrogating them against every logic – even his own. Because roses' petals have been told to mirror Cosmos's complexity and multilayered truths. And every rosebud is a promise and a saucerful of secrets.

He thought his quest was over once he first laid eyes on a pale rosebud that smelled of other skies, painstakingly beautiful and, in any possible sense, alien. Yet she bore the softness of familiar flowers and a restrained edge, like the thorns he was used to. Layer by layer, petal by petal, he had devoted himself to unfolding her and, in return, letting himself be unfolded by her, his Rose, his destiny. And when the moment came when his life was his only possession left to offer, he gave it. Both their petals blossoming and scattering, and yet spiralling together through adverse winds, waiting for a quiet place, a time to touch the ground and mingle and finally rest.

_To give life_.

Only now does he realize the wonder and the mystery of the most beautiful, perfect roses he's holding.

Tender and velvety and fragile and tiny are the babies in his and his Usako's arms. Yet there's strength underneath it all: of every new life claiming his right to existence. A promise still at his full potential. It's melting him inside. He would never have hoped one day that he would really be able to have life spilling and stemming from him.

As the sun dips his children in his warm, hot glow, their hands stretching towards the sunbeams like tree branches, their beings spreading like the rosebuds of the garden they're walking through. Their voices thrill him like birds humming and merry waters flowing. Demanding him to bloom wholly.

And his laughter joins the song.

_To give life._

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AN: I wanted to explore a bit the different aspects of 'giving life'. Hoping that in English it makes sense as it does in Italian.

To give life... Life is a gift. Something you're given. Something you give.

Who (or what) is the one giving or being given, and the one receiving?

Besides, 'giving life' can mean both 'to die' and 'to give new life'. Both figuratively and literally.

And, yes, I've mixed different timeframes too. Past tenses for past/present (Silver Millennium and nowadays), present tense for the future (Crystal Tokyo. Or a short trip to Elysion if you prefer ;) )

Oh, one last thing: "the Greek philosopher of old" is Plato :) .


	14. Pointillism' and 'The Perfect Ending'

Usual Disclaimer .

Post-Stars timeframe, Usagi-centered, a bit of anime and manga canon mix. Slightly AU, because it hints at her having more than one child (Mamo-chan, put your beautiful genes to some use, ne? ;) )  
Also, the narrator's POV and identity are purposely vague.

Special thanks to Spirit-hime for some word choosing :) , and to Lilian and caytlynrose for feedback on the first draft.

That said, here it is. An update long overdue.

**# 40. Pointillism / # 100. The perfect ending  
**

O))------------)--------------

You watch her beloved face dappled by the sunrays filtering through the greenery arch of the park path. The reality of her self fading in the shifting mosaic drawn on her skin by lights and shadows. Illusions, though real. Ever changing patterns. Yin and yang shifting and merging.  
Musing at what was, is and will be, could be - the future never being set in stone... -.  
At the many facets of everybody's mind, body, and soul.  
At how all of them have sometimes yield to, sometimes challenged, other times clashed, and sometimes just stumbled against Fate so many times, in so many ways.  
And at having been able to put together the shards of their broken lives afterwards nonetheless.  
Like a thread glowing in the darkness, not fully aware of its mere power, is her smile –and everything encompassed within it - under the trees as she walks, fragmented by trick of the light but not faltering.  
The power of standing and going on although the thread can bend, grow worn out, cut. Wavering like a flame in the wind, but still burning.

She goes forwards to reach the clearing bathed with sunlight at the end of the path.  
So many paths and choices can be taken from there. Some are familiar, some totally unknown. Yet she keeps walking. _The road ends, but it's not the end of the road_, she thinks she can hear her loved ones from different lifetimes say.  
Were a path leading astray or to a dead end, there would be so many others to walk on. And for every end, another, new beginning.  
_Everyone is born alone and dies alone_, the universal Sorrow once had said to her through her eldest daughter's voice, in one of her darkest hours.  
_'Yes, your path is only yours to make and be walked by'. But as you do so, you never walk --alone-._ _All around you, and within you, so many memories, as well as for everything._ Her thoughts now echo with the voices of her friends and of unnumerable voices unknown, her fellows in this never-ending journey.  
_The same distant origin for a blade of grass and the most distant Star.  
The same atoms for you, me, and every single being. _  
_Ties of Matter and ties of Spirit, being bound together or severed.  
Love connecting them for Memory to carry them.  
All of this is our Memory through Time.  
This is our and everything's link to Eternity._  
This is how she - and you - step beyond the heavens though walking along on Earth.


End file.
